Kurri-born John Sattler was among the rugby league legends the media focused on for the South Sydney Rabbitohs’ win over the Bulldogs in Sunday night’s National Rugby League grand final.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And why not? Sattler captained the South Sydney side to four grand final victories; the last in 1971, the Rabbitohs last grand final win in a 43-year hiatus that ended on Sunday night.
Sattler captained South Sydney to grand final wins in 1967, 1968, 1970 and 1971. Rugby league folklore remembers how Sattler, despite suffering a double fracture to his jaw, played on for a memorable 23-12 win over Manly in the 1970 decider.
Sattler was born in Kurri in 1942 and started his playing career with Kurri when he was 16.
He played 195 games for South Sydney and also led the team in a grand final loss to Balmain in 1969. He played in four tests for Australia, three of those occasions as captain.
In 2010 Sattler was named captain of Kurri Rugby League’s team of the century. He was also inducted into Cessnock City Council’s Hall of Fame last year.
